Center of Neuroscience

The Neuroscience Center is oriented towards research of the nervous system and consists of five research units from four independent institutions: four neuroscience-oriented departments of the Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AS CR), ten departments of the Institute of Physiology AS CR performing research in neuroscience, the Institute of Neuroscience of the 2nd Medical Faculty, Charles University, the Institute of Normal, Pathological and Clinical Physiology of the 3rd Medical Faculty, Charles University, and the Department of Magnetic Resonance at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine. The aim of the Neuroscience Center is to enhance the quality of collaboration among researchers within the Center in investigating the structure and function of the brain, spinal cord and the peripheral nervous system and the pathological states afflicting them. The synergistic effects of collaboration among the units of the Center result in increased publication activity in internationally recognized journals and in the improved quality of journals in which the results of the research appear. A further aim has been the greater involvement of Czech researchers in European science structures and increased participation in projects of the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes of the European Commission. An integral part of the work of the Neuroscience Center is to attract young university graduates to pursue graduate studies in neuroscience, to substantially enhance the quality of their graduate studies and to enable them to undertake stays at foreign research institutions during their graduate studies. We believe that the Center will help Czech neuroscience reach the limit of its scientific capacity, enabling not only participation in European scientific programmes, but also the initiation of new programmes, for example within the framework of the EUROCORES programme of the European Science Foundation.